Raise your hand if you are addicted to hummus. Come on now, don’t be shy. It’s perfectly okay – I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a hummus addict! But in all seriousness, hummus is a food that I absolutely love and could eat endless amounts of. Recently I started making my own homemade hummus, and it just doesn’t even compare to store-bought; it’s ten times better. Even though I’m perfectly content with plain hummus, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “what other flavors could I try?” And that’s how I ended up with this black bean hummus.
Hummus is one of those extremely versatile foods that can be served as a dip, an appetizer, or as a spread on your main dish, and there endless variations you can make. Normally I stick with using chickpeas, and then I switch up the flavors by adding beets, extra garlic, roasted red peppers, or other add-ins. However, as long as you stick with the basic components of hummus, there are actually tons of different varieties you can make by simply altering the type of bean, the add-ins, or the seasonings you use. So what are the basic components of hummus, you may ask? Great question! Let’s take a look!
In order to make a basic hummus, here are the ingredients you will need:
- Beans
- Tahini
- Olive Oil
- Citrus Juice
- Garlic
- Seasonings
- Optional add-ins
That’s it! It’s as simple as those 6 (or 7) ingredients, and then you have the freedom to switch it up however you’d like. For example, you can use garbanzo beans (chickpeas), black beans, or cannellini (white) beans; lemon juice or lime juice; cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, or cayenne pepper; or add-ins such as roasted red peppers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, or artichokes (to name a few).
Keeping this basic structure in mind, I decided to alter my original hummus recipe and instead use black beans. I still used tahini (I always use Soom tahini) and garlic, however instead of lemon juice, I chose to use lime juice instead. After that, I tweaked the spices a bit, blended it up, and couldn’t wait to dig in!
Here is one tip that I have for you when making hummus: ALWAYS use fresh lemon juice or lime juice. It honestly does make a huge difference, and using fresh juice makes it taste, well… fresher, for lack of better terms. Unfortunately I didn’t have any limes on hand to make this recipe, so I had to substitute by using bottled lime juice.
Surprisingly, this turned out more purple than black, which I was surprised to see, considering… well… black beans. And while I’m being honest, I’ll just say that it isn’t as visually-appealing as regular hummus. But then again, who cares what a food looks like? Just like with people, we should never pre-judge something/someone based on looks alone!
It took every once of strength in me not to eat it all straight from the food processor at once, but I managed to get it into the bowl and save some for later! One of my favorite ways to eat hummus is to spread it over roasted sweet potato wedges, so you better believe that’s how I enjoyed this hummus! My mom enjoys to eat it with something crunchy, so I also cut up some mini corn tortillas from Trader Joe’s, popped them in the toaster oven, and served them as chips.
So now for the million-dollar question that I know you’re all itching to know the answer to: how did it taste? Well here’s my answer: it was fantastic! It’s not fair to compare it to my original hummus recipe, because they’re two totally different recipes. However, I will say that I like both hummuses (is that the plural?) equally as much. The original hummus has more of a fresh, lemon-y taste to it, while this black bean version was more subtle in flavor and you could really taste the spices and tahini. Both versions were creamy, however the black bean version was slightly creamier and less chunky than the version I make with chickpeas. All-in-all? Both recipes are winners in my book. It’s good to switch things up every now and again so you don’t get sick of something, and this black bean hummus is certainly a great way to switch up your normal, everyday hummus.
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- Add the tahini and freshly-squeezed lime juice to a food processor. Cover and process for about 20 seconds, then stop to scrape down the side. Repeat 2-3 times, until tahini is thick and fluffy.
- Add the olive oil and minced garlic, and continue to blend for about 30 seconds.
- Remove the lid, scrape down the sides, and then add half of the black beans, along with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Blend for 30-40 seconds, or until no large clumps of beans remain.
- Remove the lid, scrape down the sides, and add the remaining black beans.
- If you would like the hummus a little thinner, add water or olive oil (1 TBSP at a time) and blend until desired consistency is reached.
- Pour into a bowl or container, garnish with some fresh parsley, and then dig in!
